Travel is great. Besides getting to know other countries and cultures, and meeting new people, traveling changes who you are to the core. Here are ten ways travel will improve your life and why you should plan your next trip now.
You become more social
Many people who travel alone need to step outside their comfort zone and meet new people. Traveling alone makes you very good at making friends. You will gain confidence in meeting new people and when you come back you will take this with you and apply it at home as well.
You gain confidence
You do different things, from walking through unknown cities, to visiting interesting sights. In short, you do great things. After doing so much, you will feel much more confident in your ability to achieve something.
You will learn to go with the flow
You've dealt with missed flights, slow buses, wrong turns, inevitable delays, bad food and much, much more. You have learned to adapt your plans to ever-changing situations. You don't get angry, you just move on and make the best of it.
You become more adventurous
When you feel confident in your ability to do something, you do anything. Skydiving, diving and more. You overcome your fear of heights. You eat the strangest things. Whatever. It's all part of the journey and the more you put yourself in awkward situations, the less awkward they become.
You learn to read people
When you don't know the language, non-verbal communication becomes even more essential for reading people and situations. Being able to read body language can tell you a lot about your environment and keep you away from bad situations. You learn to communicate with people who use non-verbal skills. Traveling to places where you don't speak the language helps you understand body language.
Travel broadens your horizon
Once you travel and experience other cultures, your perception of the world changes. It teaches you about the commonality that people all over the world share. You will learn that we are not so different after all.
You develop a desire to discover
Once you travel, you want more. Afterwards you will long to see as much of the world as possible, and to enjoy new experiences that you will take with you for the rest of your life. The world is big – there is much to do and see.
It gives you fun stories
Travel provides experiences and therefore also stories. The more you travel and discover, the more stories you collect. Before you know it, travel has turned you into one of the most fascinating storytellers.
You get friends all over the world
When you travel the world, you will make friends along the way. For future trips there are then people to see, places to stay and your friends have local knowledge to show you around. Your new friendships open your eyes to a world outside of yourself, giving you a new perspective on life.
You realize you're not bad yet
If you open the tap, you can drink water without getting sick. Or you turn on the switch, and you have light. Not to mention a roof over your head. If you've been to certain places in the world (and it doesn't even have to be that far,) you will find that these things are not so obvious.
